10 Important Facts You Should Know About The Anglo-Saxons

10. The origins of the Anglo-Saxons and the Anglo-Saxon period

The Anglo-Saxons were a confederation of Germanic peoples who initially lived in contemporary northern Germany, southern Denmark, and the northern Netherlands, and sailed across the North Sea to Britain during the Dark Ages.

In British historiography, the Anglo-Saxon period is commonly referred as the timeline between the mid 5th century (when they built the first settlements in the Albion) to the mid-late 11th century. The end of this historical period coincides as such with the Norman conquest of England which took place in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings.

According to ‘Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum’ (‘The Ecclesiastical History of the English people’) written by Saint Bede the Venerable, an early medieval historian, the Anglo-Saxons were largely descended from the Angles (who came from Schleswig), the Saxons (who also lived in ancient times in Schleswig and around the Baltic coast), and the Jutes (from Jutland, modern day Denmark). It is very likely that Frisians also settled Britain following the Roman withdrawal in circa 410 AD.

9. The language of the Anglo-Saxons

It is still debatable among historians whether or not the Angles and Saxons spoke the same language when they came to Britain in the mid 5th century. However, the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ commonly refers to the language spoken by them in England as well as eastern Scotland, from the 5th century to the 12th century.

Scholarly, Old English is the preferred denomination for the language though. The Old English language was written in insular (Gaelic) script or in Anglo-Saxon (Futhorc) runes from the 5th century to the 12th century.

8. The correct usage of the term Anglo-Saxon

When referring in a historical context the term Anglo-Saxon, one must bear in mind the fact that ethnically it may denote equally Angles and Saxons, but the Anglo-Saxons didn’t call themselves as such. They referred to themselves separately as either ‘Ængli’ (i.e. Angles) or ‘Seaxe’ (i.e. Saxons).

Furthermore, it was only in the 8th century that the term Anglo-Saxon was firstly attested, but only to make a clear discrepancy between the Saxons who settled in Britain and those from continental Europe. Thus, in the works of Saint Bede the Venerable, the latter were called ‘Antiqui Saxones’ (i.e. ‘Old Saxons’). This denomination was actually part of a title, namely ‘rex Angul-Saxonum’ (i.e. ‘King of the Anglo-Saxons’).

7. Early Anglo-Saxon Age

The early Anglo-Saxon Age in Britain started right after the end of the Roman rule. In the wake of the ever prolonged decadence of the Roman Empire at the round of the 5th century, Britain was relatively long regarded as a peripheral province. It is generally agreed that by the mid 500’s the Romans lost any sort of authority in Britannia.

So it is that during the Migration Era — which took place during the early Middle Ages in Europe and was mainly triggered by the expansion of migratory peoples, among which were also various Germanic tribes — the Romano-Britons initially harshly opposed the territorial expansion of the Germanic invaders, being lead by prominent legendary figures as Arthur or Vortigern (whom their real identities are hardly documented), but were ultimately defeated and subdued by the beginning of the 7th century.

6. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

After successfully settling Britain, the Anglo-Saxons formed four main kingdoms which will eventually form the basis for the Kingdom of England. These were East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex. There were also three additional noteworthy ones known as Essex, Kent, and Sussex. The latter were conquered by the neighbouring kingdoms at some point in history.

Detailed map depicting the seven Saxon kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England by John Speed in ‘Theatre of the Empire of Great Britanie’ (17th century). Image source: www.commons.wikimedia.org

In addition, other Anglo-Saxon polities also existed, but were to a smaller extent worthy to play an important part in early medieval Britain. Some of them were Isle of Wight, Lindsey or Surrey. Most importantly, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex were identified as forming the heptarchy (a term to have first appeared in the work ‘Historia Anglorum’ by Henry of Huntingdon during the 12th century).

5. Anglo-Saxon helmets

Only four Anglo-Saxon helmets have been unearthed to date. Among these artefacts, the most notable ones are the Coopergate helmet (which was discovered in York), and the one excavated at Sutton Hoo, an archaeological site situated near Woodbridge, East Anglia. The first dates from the 8th century, while the second possibly belonged to a 7th century Anglo-Saxon nobleman.

4. The Norse invasions of Anglo-Saxon England

Due a to a number of debated reasons, the Norsemen started to raid the eastern and southern coastlines of Britain as early as 789, when a group of Norwegian Vikings from Hordaland landed on the Isle of Portland, in the English Channel.

However, the date often given as the start of the Viking Age in England is 793, when another convoy of Norwegian Vikings plundered the Catholic abbey of Lindisfarne, located less than one mile off the north-eastern coast of the Kingdom of Northumbria, now northern England.

3. The Anglo-Saxons were related to the Vikings

Both the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were genetically related to the Norsemen, having as such a common Germanic ethnic origin. Since their homelands were northern modern day Germany and the Netherlands, as well as southern modern day Denmark, it goes without saying that their languages also retained a mutual degree of intelligibility over the years that passed their exodus towards Britain.

As in the case of the Vikings, one of the causes which explains the migration of the Anglo-Saxons to the west is the fact that they needed good farming soils. In Britain, they initially engaged in agriculture after pushing the Celtic-speaking populations northward and westward.

2. Anglo-Saxon architecture

Generally, the houses built by the Anglo-Saxons were quite simplistic in design. They were constructed using timber with thatch for roofing. When they initially landed in Britain, they preferred to live in small rural communities. Nonetheless, some of them opted to build wooden houses within the walls of the former towns erected by the Romans.

1. Anglo-Saxon coins

It is also quite interesting to note that between 991 and 1018, the Anglo-Saxon kings of England paid Viking invaders 2.8 million troy oz in silver coins. This explains why today there are still more Anglo-Saxon silver coins in Denmark than in England.